The unexpected (COMPLETE)
by Sboyle92
Summary: Hawthorne Baggins is not as respectable as she seems. When Gandalf the Gray comes calling for an adventure, he and most of his companions are in for a surprise.


Hawthorne leaned back against the back of her bench with a content sigh and let the smoke she had breathed in out in a perfect circle. The times where she could just relax and have a smoke have been few and far between over the past twelve years and so enjoyed it as much as possible.

All of a sudden the warm sun she had been basking in was blocked. Scrunching her face she slowly opened her eyes and saw a Tall Folk clad in gray robes and leaning on a wooden staff in front of her.

"Er, good morning."

"Hmph. What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on? Hmm?"

Hawthorne was struck speechless for a second which didn't happen often.

"Uh, well, i guess all if them at once, I suppose." She replied, gesturing with her pipe. The man hmm'd again. "May i help you?"

"That remains to be seen. I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure."

Hawthorne immediately felt panic rise in her chest. She couldn't go on an adventure! She hadn't been on one for 15 years! Besides she had too much to do here in Bag End.

"Ah, i believe you have come to the wrong place. There are no adventures to be had here. And don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures." Hawthorne stood from her bench and collected her mail to avoid looking at the man for a moment. "Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner." She stepped up towards her door before pausing and turning back around. "Good morning." She said with a bow of her head and made to turn back around when he spoke again.

"To think that i should have lived to be 'good morning'ed' by Belladonna Took's daughter as if i were selling buttons at the door!"

Hawthorne became puzzled and a little bit flabbergasted. "I beg your pardon!"

"You've changed, and not entirely for the better, Hawthorne Baggins."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Well, you know my name, although you don't remember I belong to it. I'm Gandalf. And Gandalf means...me."

"Gandalf? Not Gandalf the wandering Wizard...who made such excellent fireworks? Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve." Gandalf kind of shrugged and looked around for a second as Hawthorne talked. Hawthorne let loose a little chuckle before continuing. "Ahem. No idea you were still in business."

"And where else should I be?" Hawthorne didn't respond nor did she let the wizard see the mischievous smile that appeared on lips as he had been turned away from her. Gandalf turned back to her. "Well, I'm pleased to find you remember something about me...even if it's only my fireworks. Yes. Well, that's decided. It'll be very good for you...and most amusing for me. I shall inform the others."

The mischief that had begun to fill her vanished. "What others?" Hawthorne then shook her head. "Inform the who? What? No. No. No... Wait. We do not want any adventures here, thank you. Not today. I suggest you try Over the Hill or Across the Water. Good morning." Hawthorne said before running up her steps and into Bags End before Gandalf could stop her.

Hawthorne locked the door behind her and took a deep breath. Maybe taking a bath would help relieve the stress that she had received from her mother's old friend that she hadn't seen since her parents passed.

After soaking for at least an hour and looking like a shriveled up prune, Hawthorne went into the pantry so that she may get started on the next meal of the day. Not seeing anything pop out at her, she turned to head towards the door when she jumped back, startled.

"Nori! Don't do that!" The silent dwarf had a smug smile at being able to catch her unawares.

"Sorry, love, thought you heard me." Nori drew her into his arms, the two just relaxing into each other. They hadn't seen each other in almost six months.

"I missed you."

"I've missed you too."

They stood there just basking in each other's presence.

Hawthorne then had a thought. "You're going on that adventure Gandalf came here wanting me to go on, aren't you?"

Nori stiffened and drew back, his eyes dark. "I didn't know that when Tharkun talked about bringing a hobbit along he meant you. Or else I would have vehemently done everything I could to dissuade him."

"I don't care about him wanting me to go. You and I both know that I am not going on whatever adventure has brought you out of the Blue Mountains. I care about you going. You have too much lose if you should perish."

Nori gently put their foreheads together as he met her eyes.

"Thorne, nothing is going to happen to me. I always come back to you, don't I? No matter how dangerous it may have seemed."

Hawthorne let out a sigh. "I know, my heart. But I can't stop worrying. You know if something happens to you, husband, that I won't be the only one that loses you."

"I know. Now, where are the rascals?"

"At Hamfast's. Bell offered to watch them all until after dinner. Go on over and surprise them, I'll get started on dinner."

Nori hesitated. "If you're making dinner, you might want to make extras."

Hawthorne's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because since you are the hobbit that Gandalf wants to have on this adventure, then you will be having twelve other dwarrow on your doorstep. Plus a wizard and myself."

Hawthorne's eyes widened and Nori's fun loving, mischief making wife, turned into a proper hobbit. "Oh, no! I have nothing prepared for a company that large!" She immediately began pulling things out of her pantry and running to the kitchen. she only had a few hours to cook enough food. She could only thank the Green Lady that Bell had the rascals that evening for dinner.

She barely noticed Nori leaving a kiss on her cheek and slipping out the back door to go visit her neighbor's, such in a tizzy she was. Oh, she hoped she would have enough.

linebreak

Hawthorne was about to have a heartattack. The dwarves were too much and Gandalf was absolutely no help at all.

Gandalf was dancing around counting the dwarves. "We're missing two."

"He said he would be late. Don't know where the other one is." Dwalin growled. Hawthorne knew that they were talking about Nori but didn't know whom else they were talking about but she cared little as she watched the dwarves throw her mother's dishes around like they were toys. And they all thought it was funny that they were overwhelming her and causing her distress. She darted into the kitchen at the last line of their song, only to see that the dishes were cleaned and stacked on the table, the dwarves and wizard surrounding it and laughing at the look on her face.

Then came a pounding on the door.

"He's here."

"Who's here?" Hawthorne croaked but was ignored at the dwarves and Gandalf headed towards the door, Gandalf opening the door without even asking Hawthorne.

"Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it all if it were not for the mark on the door." Hawthorne had had about enough.

"What mark? That door was painted less then a week ago."

"There was a mark, I put it there." Gandalf remarked but went silent when this new dwarf began to circle Hawthorne and inspect her.

"So, this is the hobbit? Looks more like a grocer then a burglar." the dwarf didn't even give her a chance to be insulted. "Tell me, hobbit, what is your weapon of choice axe or sword?"

Hawthorne's eyes narrowed. she was done with this uppity dwarf. "Knives, actually, dwarf. But I hardly see how that matters. Now, tell me why you all here in my home?"

"I told you, love, they, or rather the wizard, want you to go on an adventure." All of them turned around to see Nori leaning against the hallway doorway and watching them, or rather, his kin with a stern look. Hawthorne let out a sigh of relief and moved towards him, letting him draw her into his chest and shield her.

"W-What is the meaning of this, Nori?" the rude dwarf faintly stammered.

"I thought my kin would treat their host better then they have, or else I would have stayed." Nori growled out, his eyes setting into a glare as he held his hobbit closer to him protectively.

"Nori! Who is this? Who is she to you?" Dori, Nori's older brother asked. Before Nori could answer, the front door was slammed open and a troop of little faunts came barreling in, their eyes set on Hawthorne and Nori.

"Mama! Look, Adad's home!" The faunts cried, crashing into the adult hobbit and causing her to laugh. The dwarves and wizard had turned to stone and were now gaping at the several children claiming the hobbit as their mother and one of their Company as their father. Nori lost the stern look he had had and gazed upon the children that were telling their mother about their day.

Dori finally found his voice. "Are they your's, Nori?"

Nori smirked at his brothers. "Of course. Hawthorne is my wife, brothers. Has been for almost fourteen years. And she is my One."

Stunned silence again.

"Children, why don't you introduce yourselves to your uncles?" The stunned silence soon turned to delight and awe as the half dwarf half hobbit children began to introduce themselves. the older dwarves not having seen this many dwarven fathered children since before the fall of Erebor.

"Nah, my love, I'll introduce them." Nori said, seeing how shy his children had suddenly become.

"These are our eldest, Amaranth, Aspen, and Ash. Bryony and Blossom. Harlow and Kingsley. Landon, Thorne, and Poppy. Sage and Rowan. Orick, Parker, Tigerlily, and Wisteria."

"16." More then one dwarf whispered in awe. Ori and Dori, Hawthorne could tell, as well as Bofur and Bifur, were eager to introduce themselves to the little ones but were holding themselves back.

"We're trying to beat the Shire record of twenty-four." Hawthorne piped up. She gestured to Ori and Dori. "Loves, these are your Adad's brothers. Why don't you go say hello to them?"

It took a second, but Wisteria, their youngest child and daughter, was the first one to make a move towards her uncles and that caused a chain reaction, especially when Nori introduced the other excited dwarves at being around such young children.

Gandalf sidled up to Hawthorne when everyone was distracted. "So, I guess this means that you won't be joining us, Miss Baggins."

Hawthorne laughed, seeing the mischief in his eyes. "Aye, Disturber of the Peace. This definitely means I won't be joining you. However, I'm sure one of my Took or Brandybuck cousins would be more then happy to join you if you require a hobbit."

Gandalf smiled and moved off, disappearing into the sitting room. Nori came up next to her. "Why don't we go try and beat that record?" he murmured in her ear. Hawthorne rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Dori, Ori, Bofur, and Bifur are going to watch them for us so might as well."

Hawthorne let a mischievous grin grow before taking his hand and allowing her to lead her to the master bedroom, strongly ignoring the looks from the dwarves and trying not to blush.

She loved her Nori and wouldn't be able to thank him enough for staying and giving her her family.

And if in the years following, after Erebor was retaken with none of the company dying and Nori and Hawthorne managed to break the shire record by a landslide, well, who would really protest more dwobbits running around the Lonely Mountain.

The End

Eldest (triplets - 11)

Amaranth girl

Aspen - girl

Ash - boy

(twins - 9)

Bryony - girl

Blossom - girl

Middle (twins - 7)

Harlow - boy

Kingsley - boy

(triplets - 5)

Landon - boy

Thorne - boy

Poppy - girl

(twins - 4)

Sage - girl

Rowan - boy

(quadruplets- 3)

Orick - boy

Parker - boy

Tigerlily - girl

Wisteria - girl


End file.
